Tripura CM announces₹5 lakh relief to kin of Kerala custody death victim

In a surprise move Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Thursday called on the family of SR Sreejith who was allegedly killed in police custody and announced a relief of ₹5 lakh to his widow.

Sreejith, a father of two, was arrested with nine others on April 7 in connection with the suicide of another man. He later succumbed to the alleged torture in custody and four policemen were arrested in connection with his murder. Last week the government had offered a job to his widow.

Deb, who is in the state to campaign for the Chenganur by-election, came down heavily on his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan saying he will share the fate of Manik Sarkar — former CM of Tripura who ruled the state for 20 years.

“Pinarayi will have to pay a heavy price for police highhandedness. He should have shed his ego and visited the family. People of the state will realise the divisive politics of the CPI(M)

and the CM is awaiting the fate of Manik Sarkar,” he said.

Chenganur (Alappuzha district) is witnessing a fierce threecornered contest and all three major contenders have fielded strong candidates — CPI(M)’s Alappuzha district secretary Saji Cherian, BJP former state chief PS Sreedharan Pillai and Congress veteran SD Vijayakumar. Stakes are high for all three contenders. The CPI(M) is looking to retain its seat because it feels it is a referendum on its government.

For the BJP, it is an opportunity to announce its arrival in the state. Its leaders said Chenganur will be the launching pad for the party in the state. Several Union ministers including Prakash Javdekar and Smrti Irani have stepped in to campaign for the seat.

The Congress on the other hand is looking to regain its stronghold that slipped out of its kitty in the last assembly election.

Its candidate got a shot in the arm after the regional party Kerala Congress (Mani) pledged its support to him two days back.

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